New Year
by canisa
Summary: [complete] Killua POV [ G+K, borderline of friendship and shounen-ai] a Christmas/holiday fic


Title: New Year Author: Canisa Warning: Killua centric.could be friendship, could be shounen-ai [^__^] depend on how you see it. Supposed to be a sweet fic but turned out not exactly what I had planned. er. I guess it is still sweet . but as in Zoldick style.. And not the usual shoujo style.. read and find out.. ^_^;;;;  
  
Spoiler alert!!!!! (at the end of manga vol. 15) ********* ********** Read at your own risk!!! (at the end of manga vol. 15) ********** ********* This is after the York Shin auction and during Greed Island Arc.. when Gon and Killua are in the Greed Island training with Bisuke, a 57 year old "girl" who becomes Gon and Killua's master and helped to train them in Greed Island, a game only for the "Hunters" that was created by Gon's father... (in the middle of manga Vol. 15)  
  
--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
"Why don't we take a break today?"  
  
"Eh?" I turned around, slightly surprised at the suggestion.  
  
"It's probably a little bit early for the party but should we do it?" Bisuke added. Her usual mischievous eyes twinkled.  
  
I eyed at her with suspicion. After all, for the past few months, she has been nothing but training our ass off. Though I can't deny that it was quite fun training at this place where Gon and I could blow up whatever rocks or trees or monsters we want, I am still .. worried.  
  
I mean. just in the last few weeks, she had Gon's head full of bruises while trying to train us to be alert while sleeping. The training was a generic one. She had made us each sleep while holding onto a string that was attached to a huge rock hanging over our head. If we were to loose grip of the string, the rock would fell and hit our head. Even though it was easy for me, (all thanks to my dad who trained me in a similar way.. Except that he used knife instead of rocks.) But Gon.. he went through at least 4 days of no sleep and bruises before he could finally get a good night's rest.  
  
Usually, I would have seriously beat up whoever hurt Gon, but I didn't do anything to Bisuke. After all, the training was all for his own good and protection. But to see him, bearing a sack of black bags underneath his usual bright eyes after a night of no sleep and with rocks felling on his head..just kind of ..uneasy for me..  
  
If possible, I wouldn't want to go through another training like that ever again..  
  
"How do your countries celebrate?" Bisuke added, totally not noticing my uneasiness and suspicion.  
  
"Celebrate what?" Gon asked with his usual curiousness.  
  
I still did not let down my guard. I even used Gyo to check to see if she is doing anything tricky.  
  
"Hehehhe." But Bisuke smiled, acting rarely like a grown up she was supposed to be. "Bet you didn't realize that New Year's almost here!"  
  
New Year..  
  
A sudden coldness rushed through my spine.  
  
At Zoldick Family, New Year always meant a new beginning. And in order to make way for the new, the old has to be eliminated...  
  
I shuddered as the unpleasant memory suddenly surfaced. The images paraded in the back of my mind..The vacant eyes.. The feel of blood all over my fingers. The taste..  
  
"AH! Shimatta**!" Gon suddenly yelled out, snapping me out of my horrible daydream.  
  
I stared at Gon, remembering that I am no longer in the Zoldick family, remembering that dad had told me that I had earned my freedom. I relaxed, suddenly glad that I am here with him and not with my family. "What?" I asked casually to disguise my previous troubling thoughts while watching his eyes sparkling with such liveliness that was never a part of the Zoldick family.  
  
"Ah.."Gon blushed and looked away from me for a brief second before he finally reverted his attention to me, looking a bit hasty. "Remember?!" His voice was slightly elevated. I could almost hear his heart beating ten times faster than normal. "The Hunter Exam!!"  
  
I arched my eyebrow, seeing through his lies easily. One of these days, I will have to teach him how to be a better liar. I could still remember vividly that one time when we were captured by the Spiders. And this stupid, not to mention careless BAKA, had almost get himself killed when he gasped at Hisoka's presence without thinking. If it were not for my quick thinking and perfect lie, we would have not been skinned alive there!  
  
Sometimes, I wondered how he could have survived without me!  
  
"Oh.. that's right." I shrugged, making myself look causal as usual. "It's almost that time of the year." Though I was interested in what he was going to say, but I decided not to force him. Knowing him, he would probably tell me later anyways.  
  
"If we don't hurry, you will miss it!" Gon urged, possibly because of my uncaring attitude.  
  
And I was grateful. I could tell he was sincerely concerned, despite that it was not his original thought. "Ah. too bad the training is just getting fun." I rubbed my head, pretending to be conflicting with thoughts. To be honest, I could care less about the Hunter Exam. It was all game anyway. Besides, I already know the existence of "Nen", and Gon has the Hunter privilege for the both of us. There really was no point for me to waste my time and get one too. Being here and training with Gon is probably a better use of my time and effort. But then the mischievous side of me is curious to see if Gon could see through my fakeness as easily I could see through his. so I decided to put on a little show. "But the Exam is only once a year." I pouted, acting a little bit disappointed while secretly eying Gon to see if he could see through my lie.  
  
And.. as I expected..  
  
"What date is today?" Gon immediately turned to ask Bisuke, wariness written openly on his face.  
  
"December 29." She replied.  
  
Gon's face darkened upon hearing the date but it faded quickly, thinking that I did not catch it.  
  
It had made me wondered once again what his original thought was when he had heard that it was almost New Year's. But again, if he didn't want to tell me, I could not force him anyways.  
  
"The deadline for the signup is Dec 31. We will have to hurry if we want to make it." Bisuke added.  
  
While Gon and Bisuke engaged in their discussion, I sighed internally.  
  
Gon, the last trusting human race, would never ever, and I mean EVER, see through my facade.  
  
"So how do we get outside?" Gon finally turned his attention back to me.  
  
I eyed at his worrisome face. He looked as if it was all his fault that I might not be able to make it to the Hunter Exam. I knew exactly what he was thinking. He thought that because it was him who dragged me into this game, I would miss the chance to get my Hunter Card.  
  
What a clueless baka. When is he ever going to learn that I am not doing this for him. I am doing this for myself.  
  
Once again, Gon, the last selfless human race, is taking up all those unnecessary responsibility upon himself. Just like the time when he came all the way to my house to pick me up...  
  
It was too dangerous.  
  
Mike would have caught him. Illumi could have ripped his heart out. Gotto would have used him as a target practice. Yet he still came..  
  
I sighed, admitting defeat without him knowing. "Didn't those people we met said that..." I rambled on, telling Bisuke and Gon about the possibility of getting gout the game. Though I did not really want to do this but I guess I would have to make it to the Hunter Exam and get that damn card in order to banish that pathetic look of his from my sight.  
  
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
"All right." I held up the magic card that would be my ticket to get out of this game. "I will return as soon as I pass that exam." I winked, confidence written all over my face.  
  
"Okay!" Gon nodded in response. "Oh, by the way, near the Dou-re port, there is a family of magic beasts living in a wooden house on a mountain that has only one huge tree at the top." He smiled, obviously reminiscing the good days. "Tell them that you are my friend and they should be able to take you to the exam easily."  
  
I waved, reassuring him that I understood and used the magic card.  
  
A bright light suddenly engulfed me. My body suddenly felt light, like the time when I entered the game. And before I knew it, I arrived at the familiar entrance, or should I said, exit, of the game.  
  
I pushed the gate open with ease and met the gatekeeper. Was she the same one I met when I entered the game? Nah. That's what they usually do. You could just change the hair color and then you get another new character.  
  
"Killua-san, there are 50 ports I could send you to. Which port would you prefer?" The gatekeeper asked politely.  
  
Hum.. Gon had told me to go to Dou-re Port in order to meet his friends, the magic beasts..  
  
Upon that thought, I felt weird suddenly.  
  
I could never understand how Gon could befriend with almost everyone, even magic beasts! I guess it was his nature to attract people. I mean, even that deadly Hisoka could not escape his "charm".  
  
But what unnerved me the most was the way Gon's eyes lit up as he remembered the magic beasts.  
  
It painfully reminded me that Gon has many friends.  
  
Yet he is my only.  
  
. New Year is the time when old is eliminated in order to make ways for the new..  
  
The voice whispered constantly in the back of my mind suddenly became louder.  
  
I closed my eyes, once again summoning up all the happy memories from the past year in order to seal away the dark ones.  
  
It was the damn New Years. It was because I am all alone again.. Just like I used to be... all alone.. in the dark.. with the sound of blood dripping down..  
  
"Killua-san?"  
  
I looked up, not meeting the usual bright brown eyes but the unfamiliar green eyes. The monotonous voice resonated in the cold metal enclosed room.  
  
"Killua-san, there are 50.."  
  
"Is Dou-re port one of them?" Without having her finishing the repeated question, I asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then Dou-re port is fine." I shrugged, looking everywhere but that unfamiliar pair of green eyes that seem to be able to penetrate me.  
  
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
The hair on the back of my neck rose as the magic beasts sniffed at me. Never have I been so close to something other than Gon.. not to mention allowing them to sniff me.  
  
It was a very odd experience but I tolerated it. I imagine that Gon would be really mad if I were to strike these two magic beasts down. One day he would have to thank me for sacrificing so much for him.  
  
"I see." One of the magic beasts suddenly spoke. "You do have Gon's smell on you."  
  
"But I took a shower before I came." I hid my sudden blush. It had sound.. perverted.  
  
"Ah.. I missed him so much!" The other magic beasts echoed.  
  
Or was it coming from the same beast?  
  
I could not tell. Gon had told me that one should speak with a higher pitch but to me, they all sounded the same.  
  
"Gon's smell is mainly coming from here." The magic beast pointed at my right pocket of my short.  
  
I looked down at my short, puzzled.  
  
"Maybe you have something from him in the pocket." Seeing my confusion, the magic beast offered a possible explanation.  
  
"I don't think so." As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I immediately remembered that even though I had thrown this short into the washer and dryer, I did it very hastily and did not check for things in the pockets. I searched into the pocket and discovered a small solid object. I retrieved it out into the open.  
  
"How cute!" One of the magic beasts exclaimed immediately. Judging from its choice of words, I guess this one is the female.  
  
The other magic beast sniffed on it. "Yup, most of Gon's smell is definitely coming from this thing."  
  
But I ignored them and instead, I stared at the small object on my palm, suddenly feel the warmness on my cheek.  
  
The treasure in my hand was a small handmade wooden object. It was crudely carved into a shape like two chibie (small) figures whose arms are around each other's shoulder. One figure seems to have spiky hair pointing up like Gon's while the other has hair like mine. A crumbled piece of paper wrapped around their waist.  
  
"Is that paper a message?" The male magic beast asked.  
  
My fingers trembled as I eagerly unwrapped the paper around the wooden dolls' waists. It took all my effort to control myself so that I would not to damage the paper.  
  
But as soon as I opened the paper, disappointment engulfed me.  
  
"What happened?" The female beast exclaimed with the same disappointment. "Why is the writing all smeared?"  
  
The damn washer and dryer.. I lowered my head. I had not checked my pocket before I threw it in...  
  
I could not read a damn thing.  
  
I had destroyed it. I had..  
  
Suddenly, one of the magic beast put its arm around me. "There is no doubt that this came from Gon." It spoke softly, almost as if it was trying to comfort me.  
  
"That's right." The other beast echoed. "Christmas just passed.. Hum. must be his Christmas gift for you!"  
  
"We are jealous!" The magic beast withdrew its arm and turned its attention to its partner. "Gon didn't even make us a gift. Next time, we will have to ask for one, right? Dear?"  
  
"That's right." The other beast echoed again. "Killua-kun, Gon must have seen you as his best friend. Otherwise, he would not have take the time to make this for you."  
  
I looked up, surprised to see the warmness in their eyes. "A Christmas gift..." I muttered, feeling a bit dazed.  
  
"Isn't this the cutest Christmas gift you have ever received?"  
  
A sincere chuckle escaped me. "This is my first Christmas Gift." Usually, I don't like to reveal things about my family, but I could not help it. "This is my first and the best Christmas Gift." I smiled.  
  
The magic beasts, as I expected, were a bit surprised to hear my declaration. But they did not comment on it. "I guess you will have to ask Gon what he wrote on the note then."  
  
I looked down at the crumbled paper briefly before I eagerly looked up. "Can you take me to the exam now?"  
  
"There is no problem taking you to the exam. It will take about 4 days to get there."  
  
I nodded. "I want to take the exam and pass it quickly so that I can get back to Gon as soon as possible."  
  
The magic beasts laughed warmly. And I suddenly feel embarrassed, realizing the childish tone behind my words.  
  
"You could do that but the thing is that the exam date is already set, you can't really do anything about it."  
  
"Oh.. that's right." I blushed, feeling myself smaller and smaller but not regretting the question.  
  
"We will definitely take you to the exam few days before it starts." The beasts reassured me with friendliness. "In the mean time, why don't you tell us about Gon? We only heard that he had passed the exam."  
  
Wrapping my hand around my first gift possessively, I smiled at their request. Suddenly, I don't feel loneliness any more but a sense of belonging. The magic beasts were right. Even though I could not smell Gon like they did, I could feel his presence.  
  
I carefully folded the note and put it in my wallet. I then asked for a string so that I could tie the wooden figure on my neck.  
  
My eyes sparkled with the same liveliness that I have always seen in Gon's eyes. "How about I start where Gon came to house looking for me?" I smiled.  
  
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Aftermath....  
  
Killua: Wait a second.. how did Gon slip that gift into my pocket! o_O  
  
OWARI ^_____^  
  
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*_*  
  
NOTE: **shimatta== there's really no English translation of this. (or so I thought.) the best I can come up with is. "Darn it!" ^_^;;; if you have better idea.. let me know..  
  
So... how do you like it? I hope Killua is not too OOC! I hope it  
  
was clear that Gon yelled "Damn it!" because he forgot about the  
  
Christmas gift for Killua. ^_^  
  
btw.. I hope it's all right that I didn't reveal what Gon wrote...  
  
maybe I can use that in a sequel or something ^__^ hehehehehe  
  
reviews welcomed!!  
  
Happy holiday! 


End file.
